Jimena Weakens to Tropical Storm

The
National Hurricane Center in Miami says Jimena is carrying maximum
sustained winds of 85 kilometers an hour, as it closes in on the Santa
Rosalita area.

Forecasters expect the storm to weaken to a
tropical depression by Thursday night as it moves over the central Baja
California peninsula.

Jimena came ashore Wednesday between
Puerto San Andresito and San Junaico as a weakened Category One
hurricane, the lowest on a five-level scale that measures a storm's
intensity and potential for destruction.

The storm ripped roofs from buildings, knocked out power and littered areas with debris.

Forecasters
expect some eight to 13 centimeters of rain over the central Baja
California peninsula and parts of western Mexico in the coming days.

Authorities
declared a state of emergency in Baja California's Sur state, where
thousands of impoverished residents fled to emergency shelters to wait
out the storm.

Meanwhile, the hurricane center says Tropical
Storm Erika is expected to weaken as it travels on a western path over
the Caribbean. The storm is approaching Puerto Rico and the U.S. and
British Virgin Islands with winds near 65 kilometers an hour.

A
tropical storm watch remains in effect for Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands, while storm warnings are posted for other areas in the eastern
Caribbean.